1 One of the main differences between plants and animals is that animals need to eat food, but plants don't need to eat because they have chlorophyll. With this chlorophyll and energy from the sun, plants can make their own food using the process called photosynthesis.2 So what about the Venus flytrap? Is it an exception to the rule? Venus flytraps are carnivorous, or meat-eating, plants. A fly that lands on a Venus flytrap had better beware. A fly that lands on a Venus flytrap is history; it's lunch, a protein-packed meal for a plant.3 The Venus flytrap is not the only exception to the rule. It is one of over 600 types of carnivorous plants! Carnivorous plants are like other plants in many ways. They even use photosynthesis to make most of their own food. They are carnivorous for a reason. Most carnivorous plants live in swampy wetlands. This environment does not provide enough of the nutrients that plants need, especially nitrogen. So these plants have adapted to their environment by developing ways to catch insects for the extra nutrition that they need. It is a survival tool.